The effects of variable tire pressure on road surfacings were determined. A specially designed test road was constructed and subjected both to loaded (80, 000 lb) and unloaded 18-wheeled log trucks operating in two distinct traffic lanes. The traffic was applied at tire pressures of 10 psi in one lane and at approximately 39 psi in theother lane. The background, design, construction procedure, and performance of the various sections during traffic are discussed. The results indicate that (a) when failures occurred in both lanes of thesame asphalt concrete section, the ratio of 39-psi tire pressure traffic to 100-psi tire pressure traffic ranged between 1.5 And 21; (b) considerable maintenance will be required on aggregate-surfaced grades receiving high-tire-pressure unloaded traffic because of severewashboarding; and (c) the installation of central tire inflation systems that allow a driver to adjust a vehicle's tire pressure while in motion will be cost-effective for heavy trucks traveling on low-volume, low-speed roads. Savings can be realized in the reduced thickness required to withstand the loads and in the effort required to maintain aggregate-surfaced roads with trucks operating at low (39-psi) tire pressure. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1291, Fifth international conference on low-volume roads, may19-23, 1991, raleigh, north carolina, volume 2.
Samenvatting